BRAINSTORMING BETTER TURNOUT

BRAINSTORMING BETTER TURNOUT

Written By Charles Ellison

Another Democratic primary in Philadelphia, another year where voter turnout was pitifully below even the lowest standard set by the city officials who oversee our elections.

Races from local to state to federal were crowded and contentious this year, especially in Pennsylvania’s post-gerrymandered era. New Congressional districts offered new plot twists. Nowhere was the political drama more intense than in the Philly region, where House candidates pressed hard on the first step to Washington, D.C. and others similarly convinced themselves they had what it took to take on Harrisburg.

Others became acutely aware of the often unknown or less recognized Committee person seats which have gradually become a conversation piece. And even as Democratic primaries for Governor and U.S. Senate were uncontested, thereby paving the way for slightly easier paths for Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), this latest round of primaries certainly held enormous political value for everyone.